For centuries, Petrarch’s sonnets were a source of inspiration for composers such as Willaert, De Rore and Conversi, whose work we’ll hear in this concert.

The latest addition to this tradition of Petrarch settings is three madrigals by Joop Voorn.
Voorn has beautifully set three poems from the Canzone alla Vergine (Song to the Virgin Mary) to music.
These madrigals all express the intimacy of Petrarch’s verse.

The programme further features Palestrina’s famous 1582 Missa O Magnum Mysterium.
This is a so-called parody mass: a mass that incorporates the musical themes from an existing piece of music.
Palestrina based the mass, in this case, on one of his own motets.